Stillpower

Garret Kramer
2012

Highlights

• The more we try to control our effort (or our thoughts about effort), the more we tend to get in our own way
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• When effort is unbounded, we don't even think about trying hard
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• The zone feels simple, unbounded, and easy. Time seems to slow; options look obvious. Although athletes in hte zone are incredibly locked in, this focus is never forced. These players are experiencing such clarity and vision that focus becomes mere afterthought. The word most synonymous with the notion of zone, to me, is freedom. When athletes play with freedom, they don't think; they know. They don't focus; they feel. They don't grind; they allow.
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• Athletes and choaches that look past their own thoughts regarding current outcomes consistently learn, grow, and prosper--no matter what the scoreboard says
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• Here's what many of us ought to consider: All human beings exist, from moment to moment, at varying levels of psychological functioning. When this level of functioning is low, most often for no tangible reason, we view life through a dirty lens and are prone to deviant behavior--if we act. Once this principle is grasped, we see that navigating smoothly through life doesn't have to be so complicated, and unlike the belief of many counse-ors and coaches in the self-help world, it has nothing to do with personal history.
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• The time may come when a professional athlete decides that a trade is in his best interest; however, this choice will only be "right" if it originates from fluent thinking, never from acrimony or a struggle. Therefore, the next time a pessimistic thought invades your brain, realize there is nothing you actually need to control or even do.To paraphrase coach and author Michael Neill: Your natural state of mind is crystal clear.6 When it becomes temporarily cloudy, similar to a murky glass of water, simply allow the sediment (your thoughts) to settle.
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• But let's go back to the initial question of what to teach players in the face of a challenging predicament or tough loss. The real trick to growing from this type of negative (or even positive) experience, I believe, is to allow your own thinking and gut feelings to be your guide,
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• it is possible to think and thus believe that any situation is there to help you.
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• A person's state of mind will always determine one's ability to regulate urges. When one's state of mind is high, a wayward thought does not inspire wayward action. When one's state of mind is low, a person is not capable of seeing life clearly, so he or she is prone to serious lapses in judgment and acting on impulses.
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• Many times when our thoughts, emotions, performances, or even our relationships go astray, we sense the need to come up with a solution, right on the spot. After all, if we don't feel right, why wouldn't we want to fix the feel-ing? In this book, however, we have seen that often the best answer is to do nothing in that moment, for what we really need is a little room to allow our psychological functioning to clear.
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer


• As you are now aware, the trick is simply to take stock in yourself. Are my thoughts clear? Are my feelings right? Am I open to life's big picture?
  —Stillpower by Garret Kramer